SPORTS

Shanghai, China | AFP | Facial recognition will be deployed at a marathon on Sunday in China to crack down on cheating, state media said, after a half-marathon was blighted by widescale flouting of the rules. Running and marathons are fast becoming popular in China, with participants sporting the latest …

Shanghai, China | AFP | Chinese national squads and a top league team have packed young footballers off to military camps for drills and Marxist-style “thought education” as a campaign to promote Communist Party values spreads even into the sporting world. Chinese fans have watched the militarisation of football with a …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Boxing is fighting for its Olympic future amid serious concerns over the governing body AIBA, threatening the participation of the sport at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The so-called “Sport of Kings” has a proud Olympic history and can chart its involvement back to the Ancient Games …

Asuncion, Paraguay | AFP | South American football’s governing body CONMEBOL on Thursday confirmed that the twice-postponed Copa Libertadores final second leg between Argentine rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors will be played on December 9 at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Originally scheduled for last weekend at River’s Monumental …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Boxing was fighting for its Olympic future Friday as top officials decide whether to punish the sport’s governing body, which is on the ropes over finances, judging and its controversial leader. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made clear that boxing’s future at the Tokyo …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will discuss Friday in Accra the staging of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations following reports that host nation Cameroon’s preparations were in difficulties. The executive committee meets in the Ghanaian capital Accra on the sidelines of the Africa …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP |  Manchester United have triggered the one-year extension on star goalkeeper David De Gea’s contract, British media reported Thursday. The Spain stopper’s deal was set to expire at the end of the current season and, without activating the extension clause, he could have entered into …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Senegal replaced Tunisia as the highest ranked African national team when the monthly statistics were released by FIFA Thursday. The Senegalese rose from second place on the back of a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory in Equatorial Guinea during November. Tunisia lost …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said his team “looked like butchers” because of the reactions of the Paris Saint-Germain players to challenges during the French team’s 2-1 Champions League win on Wednesday. A “little hurdle we had to overcome was the 500,000 disruptions in the …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Atletico Madrid moved one step closer to their dream Champions League final on home turf by beating Thierry Henry’s Monaco 2-0 on Wednesday to secure their place in the last 16. Atletico could hardly have imagined a more straight-forward passage into the knock-out stages as …